A Deadly Game
by Persion
Summary: Its been 2 months since Maori had left her mark on the STN-J, things were getting to be somewhat normal Chaos again, until all Witch activity becomes slow. A cold case is presented to Amon which presents a challenge...and a really unexpected finding...
1. Chapter 1

I'm back with a continuation of "A Different Intent" :3 I had planned to do another knock off of the first fic I wrote and here it is! Enjoy!

Reviews are loved and appriciated. :3 Thanks!

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Three hundred and twenty years have passed, since the coven sank in the dark.

A proposition

Lost memories

A two-faced Jester

Those who wear the mask of deception, stand next in line for the Devil's Dance.

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"Could this day get any slower?" Sakkaki whined, slowly spinning in his computer chair to look out the window of the STN-J. There were plenty of people walking along the sidewalk, just getting from point A to point B, others were probably heading home; which was exactly where he wanted to be on such a nice day.

"Stop whining already." Michael Said to him without turning around, he had his eyes glued on the computer screen, watching something load in the progress bar. "You're getting paid to be doing virtually nothing, don't complain. It could be worse."

He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his messy brown hair, spinning away from the window. "There has to be something going on somewhere." He said, re-stationing himself in front of his computer again.

"Anyone for Coffee?" Robin's quiet voice piped up from around the desks, where the coffee maker was. Michael could already smell it brewing and it was too tempting. He raised his hand lazily over the computer monitor where she could see it and waved, signaling he wanted a cup.

Suddenly there was a rather audible door slam and the sound of Dojima's raised voice wavered into the room. "I don't believe this! Ever since SHE had come here things have just been going from bad to worse! You should have just shot her Amon!" she snapped, stomping her way into the room, causing three heads to turn in her direction to see what was going on. With a loud huff she plopped down in front of another computer and bitterly muttered under her breath.

Once she had somewhat settled down, the same three heads turned to Amon, who looked as steely as ever. Apparently her little outburst had no effect on him, he simply shrugged. "That's what I had wanted to do in the first place, but we all can't get what we want now, can we?" He said calmly, disappearing into the darkened briefing room.

Silence. Robin blinked a few times before bringing a cup of coffee to Michael and glancing at Dojima with a slightly concerned look on her face. Nobody had said another word since her little break down, even Sakkaki knew what was up. Ever since Maori's startling appearance at the STN 2 months ago, poor Dojima had been suffering with the worst luck possible. The others tried explaining to her that it just didn't make sense to blame Maori for bad luck. There was no changing her mind. She was dead set on thinking Maori had cursed her before she left, under the new name 'Satu Olera'.

The odd thing that no one had really taken into account was Sakkaki's extremely lucky streak. The reason for this being, he never told anybody how his luck had been since then. He feared it would drive Dojima over the edge or put her in a really bad mental state. Worst of all, it would prove that she could very well have been right about Maori.

"What happened?" Robin asked casually, almost feeling the other people in the room wince at the question, preparing for another out burst. She kept her cool however, taking a seat next to Dojima.

She just shook her head. "I really don't want to talk about it." She stated with such finality that Robin had to take a hint. It must have been bad. She was about to get out of her seat when Amon paraded back into the room and produced a file.

"We're going to get started on this as soon as Karasuma arrives." He said, idly pulling up a chair to the desk where he placed the folder and propped his feet up on the desk, almost as if this were an everyday thing for him.

Robin swore she could see Sakkaki's ears perk up. "Please tell me that's a new case…" He trailed off, beside the table in seconds, excitedly picking up the folder to sift through the papers within it. Amon, who had closed his eyes, nodded slowly at him.

Sakkaki grinned and paced around with the folder, going through the info him self until Karasuma finally walked through the door. "Where'd you get to?" Michael asked, raising an eyebrow.

She sighed heavily. "The traffic today is horrible. I can't believe I'm saying this, but its almost too nice out. Everybody's heading to the beach." She explained, setting her things down at her desk. Her gaze shifted to Dojima, who hadn't moved from her seat since she got there. The only movement she had made was putting her head down on her desk. Karasuma frowned softly.

Sakkaki had noticed this and to avoid a potential question that could be asked, he suggested they all get into the briefing room so Amon could explain what the deal was. He gave the folder back and headed inside eagerly, waiting for everyone to take his or her places. Then the lights were dimmed and Zaizen's face appeared on a screen at the head of the table, Amon stood next to it obediently. "I understand you guys have been rather bored there this past month due to little or no witch activity. I can't have you sitting here at HQ doing nothing, so I have giving you a cold case to work on for the time being until something of more importance comes up. Good luck." With that said, his face disappeared and the screens in front of them lit up.

Amon finally took a seat and opened the folder, "The case he's given us is one from almost 60 years ago. Hiroshima. The police had ruled out a witch after the investigation because there just wasn't enough proof. Instead they deemed it a massive homicide…"

Sakkaki interrupted, "If it was just a homicide case that went cold, why would he give it to us?"

Amon threw a glare in his direction. "I'm getting to that. Upon further investigation, a detective had recently found pictures that had been hidden away and weren't used in the original case. Pictures that were damming evidence of what had really taken place there." The images slowly paraded across the screens one by one as he talked.

Most of the images were gruesome. Even more so than the nuclear ware fare that happened there. Thirty to forty people in one room were slaughtered ruthlessly, the pictures were black and white, but they could tell how much blood was on the floor due to the contrast. Robin just shook her head, until a single picture flashed onto the screen of a group of people surrounding what appeared to be a dead body. One of them appeared to be a woman.

Sakkaki had made the connection before she did. "Holy shit…It can't be…not again…"


	2. Remembering to Forget

Alrighty! Chapter 2 is up. :3 Thanks for the reviews guys, I really appreciate them.

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"I don't want to deal with any more vampires…" Sakkaki said, shaking his head. Robin had the feeling he would object to this. After going through a mini hell with Maori, she thought everyone would agree that vampires weren't their thing.

"We know, Sakkaki, we know." Karasuma said with a sigh, "I've seen enough of vampires to last a life time. But what makes you think it was vampires in the first place? Witches could be just as ruthless."

"I just know." He stated, falling silent. Suddenly he wished he were back out in the main room, being bored instead of sitting in there, mulling over a case he wanted nothing to do with it.

"You wanted something to do. Here it is. You want to go pout about it, get out of here and we'll find some one else to fill your position." Amon said coldly, "We do what's given to us and that's that."

Robin sat there silently, kind of feeling sorry for Sakkaki. "You don't suppose there are actually whole covens in this area, do you?" She asked Amon, to more or less shift the subject away from Sakkaki.

He shrugged in response. "If anybody would know anything about vampires, it'd be him." He said, gesturing at Sakkaki. "What did she tell you when she had you 'captive'?"

Sakkaki stared at him for a moment, contemplating the question and wondering if he should say 'nothing' just to be spiteful. "All she said was that they were watching her. Wanting to see if she went through with the threat of telling us of their existence." He said, intentionally leaving out the other odd facts she had mentioned to him. Like he would tell Amon himself what he knew about vampire clans. He would wait and tell Robin instead, and then she can indirectly relay information to him. Sakkaki was going to make this as difficult as possible for Amon.

"If that's the case, all we have to do is find the clans and figure it out from there." Michael said, shrugging lightly. "That won't be easy though, guaranteed. It's not like searching for clan names on Google and going from there. I won't be of much help for this."

Robin calculated the chances she had of upsetting Sakkaki with what she had to say, but if she withheld information, that wouldn't be too great either. "Michael, you'll be of some help. We'll likely need to find Maori again. We can't do this on our own. She would know more about this than we would." She said, lowering her gaze to the table.

Sakkaki stared at her incrediously. "Wait, back it up a minute. We can do this ourselves. Its like hunting witches, only we'll need slightly different weapons…" He trailed off.

"And a whole new sleeping pattern." Karasuma finished, "You forget vampires are creatures of the night."

"Whatever. I still think we can do this without calling her back here." He stated finally, crossing his arms over his chest. It was odd how his attitude about her suddenly changed over the course of 2 months. Robin had noticed how he actually wanted her to stay and be a part of the team, even though Amon would have none of that. She could only wonder what caused this sudden change in attitude. She also wondered what exactly happened while he was missing for those few days.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by Michael. "Robin, I think that's a good idea. I have her new ID, I can track her down from here and see what happens. Even though you three might have to wear ear plugs for a while or something, she will be able to help us out." He said, meaning that Karasuma, Dojima and Robin herself would have to comply to this in order to save their hearing. She wondered if Dojima would even hang around to help.

"So, where do we start then?" Karasuma asked, leaning back in her chair.

Amon sat still and thought for a moment, "I guess she's right. This is out of our league. Michael, go find Maori." He said with the utmost reluctance. Amon wouldn't admit it, but he agreed with Sakkaki at first, thinking they could do this on their own. But then again, Zaizen had only given them weapons useful for witch-hunts. What were they going to do now? They didn't know for sure if vampires were really the culprits yet. To go ask Zaizen about manufacturing vampire weapons was out of the question for now. He knew He wasn't about to invest money for research they weren't even clear on yet.

He sighed heavily as the lights came back on and followed everyone out of the room, debating what he should do from there. "It would appear there's nothing we can do as of right now until Michael figures out where she might be, if she's even still in Japan. Lets call this one a day."

Dojima was still seated at her computer, head down on her desk. Everyone exchanged worried glances and Robin finally mustered the courage to tell her she could go home now. Without saying a word, she picked up her stuff and walked out.

"I'm gonna go with her." Karasuma stated and followed Dojima out. Everyone nodded. They were scared that she would do something drastic on her way home; it was best if someone had gone with her.

Even though it was only 4:00 Sakkaki was glad to be able to leave. "I'm bowing out for now. See you guys tomorrow." He said half-heartedly and grabbed his helmet and jacket off the hook by the door and walking out, he barely heard Robin's soft 'goodbye'. He was too concentrated on getting home.

He didn't even remember the bike ride home. His thoughts were drifting in directions they shouldn't have been. The only way to get rid of her was to keep busy with things that couldn't possibly remind him of what had taken place 2 months earlier. So far that seemed difficult to do. Everything made her drift across his mind, and now a case involving vampires? He just couldn't win for losing. Despite his good luck with most things, he found it a curse.

He meandered slowly into his kitchen and sighed, the mental image of Maori leaning against his counter, waiting for him; floated across his mind. _"Would you believe me?" She asked him, her golden gaze averted to the floor." _

He shook his head and plopped down on the couch in front of his TV. "Maybe now I'll be able to zone out…" He muttered to himself, flipping through channels.

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Not much of a cliff hanger this time around. I apologize for that. But, thanks for reading and please review! :3


	3. Confusion

Wow. It's been a really long time since I've updated. . Sorry about that. D:

Also, I'd like to thank you guys for being loyal, even though I take forever to update. :3

As for reviewing, keep up the good work. n.n I like having input on my fan fics. Thanks again!

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_"I don't understand what this is about..."_ Amon thought to himself, still sifting through the pictures that went with the latest 'vampire' case. He was perplexed at what they were looking for. If it was just a massive homicide, then this is for the police investigators, not the STN. But then his dark gaze lingered on the one picture that contradicted everything he had just thought.

A picture of Maori, standing with a group of people appearing to be enjoying themselves. What a morbid thought. Enjoying mass murder? Suddenly it felt like some kind of plot line that belonged in a movie. He sighed and tossed the picture down on the desk and leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed in a slight relaxation. He didn't even stir when he heard soft foot steps enter the room, and the light sound of Robin clearing her throat to get his attention.

"Would you like something to eat? I could run down to Harry's and pick up something if you're hungry..." She trailed off, waiting to see if he even acknowledged she was there. When he shook his head, she nodded; just to herself and turned to leave.

"Go home Robin and get some sleep. If Michael has turned in, you know its late." He said, still not looking at her. All she did was nod again and continue out of the room, leaving him to his thoughts.

Robin quietly grabbed her coat and flipped the last set of lights off before finally heading down to the underground parking lot where her vespa was parked. She too was having second thoughts about this and believe it or not, she was more worried about Sakkaki and what this would do to him mentally. She had done something to him, she was sure of it. Although he probably would never admit it, but the positive influence she had over him was finally wearing off and he now realizes what really took place. It probably scared him.

Suddenly, the ride home felt so much longer.

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Robin had returned early the next morning, unable to sleep the night before. But she had come to the conclusion that she was going to help Sakkaki somehow; remembering what he had done to make her feel 'at home' at the STN when she first started. She figured this was the least she could do.

However there was a suprise for her when she walked into the office. Sakkaki was already there, sitting at his usual computer station and sipping on what smelled like strong coffee. Robin blinked a few times in surprise and hung up her coat. "...Good morning Sakkaki." She said quietly, smiling at him.

He nodded in return, proceeding to stare off into space. Her smile fadded a little and she took her seat beside Michael and glanced over his shoulder. "I don't suppose we can do much until we find her, right?" she asked, breaking his train of thought.

With a quick stretch and yawn he nodded, "Yeah. Her ID is still being tracked, I'll know pretty soon if shes left Japan or not. In the mean time, Amon left this for you." He reached to the top right corner of his screen and pulled off a sticky note, handing it to her.

A confused look crossed Robin's face as she skimmed over the writting, then she glanced back at Michael. "He wants me to look for the other people in the pictures?" This seemed somewhat pointless to Robin, considering she didn't even know where to start.

"Thats where I come in. All you have to do is edit the people out of the pictures and I'll do a face scan with every person I have stored in our database. Until we locate Maori." He said off handedly, concentrating more on what he was currently working on again.

She sighed softly and wheeled herself over to her computer and booted it up. This was going to be a challenge. Robin had never used a photo editing program before. How was she going to crop these pictures? Then a sudden thought occured to her. She had seen Sakkaki use one of those programs before. She was sure he could help her.

Just as she turned around to ask, Karasuma had walked into the office; escorting Dojima. Surprisingly, she looked a little better than the last time she had seen her. Robin nodded at her and smiled softly, Dojima in return, smiled back. "It's good to see you smile again." Robin commented.

"Yeah, I realized how much of a big baby I've been for the past little while and figured I had some growing up to do...and before you comment Sakkaki, I figured this out for myself, no one told me." She replied, throwing a glance at Sakkaki who just shrugged at her comment.

Dojima blinked a few times and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "No idea what his problem is. Amon wanted me to ask to guys to fill me in on the new case, whats going on with it?" She asked, the question particularly aimed at Robin and Karasuma. The 2 of them were forced to exchange glances. How would they break it to her nicely?

"Well..." Karasuma began, choosing her words carefully, "It would seem we need to track down Maori again because Amon believes she could help with the case...We need to find out what really happened in Hiroshima at that time and she was in the pictures. I know we don't deal with vampires, but it would seem Zaizen won't allow us back onto regular witch cases until we get this sorted out. From what we know so far, there could very well be a vampire clan hanging around the city itself which would pose a problem..." She trailed off, hoping Robin would pick up her sentence.

"We can't find them without her help...in other words..." She finished, nervously lowering her gaze to the floor. The room went dead silent. Robin and Karasuma took one look at Dojima, who appeared not to be taken aback by what had just been explained to her. However there was a slight twitch in her jaw, which she tried to hide behind her smile.

"I'm assuming we're waiting for Michael to find so we can get a start on this?" She asked, not bothering to hide her irritation at the thought of having to deal with more vampires. Especially if they all had powers like Maori.

Everyone nodded and more silence followed, Sakkaki still stared off into space. Robin glanced at him occasionally, trying to figure out what he was thinking about, just for her own benefit. The sound of a beep coming from Michael's computer caught her attention and served as a distraction. "...I've got her. Someone call Amon."

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Within a few moments after Amon's arrival, everyone was seated in the briefing room again, discussing where they were going to go from there. "Where is she?"

"She never left Japan, or the city to be specific. In fact Maori has been living just south of here the entire time." Michael announced, he was still surprised by this. He was sure she wanted a new identity so she could leave the country. For some reason, she stayed.

This news not only struck Michael as odd, but something was gnawing at Robin. It didn't make sense for her to stay if she feared being discovered by her associates. "Alright. Send coodinates to my phone. Robin and I are going after her. Sakkaki, you and Karasuma are going to be our back up. Dojima, you take your car and park half a block away and watch for trouble. If worse comes to worse, call the police and come back here." Amon announced.

That was the fastest meeting they had in a long time. Everyone carried out their orders quickly, Now that they were informed about what Maori was capable of, they were prepared. Amon and Robin located the apparment complex Maori had taken residence in quickly. Michael had even been kind enough to narrow it down to which room she was in, using the apartment's computer database. In order to avoid suspicion though, they did things the casual way, asking the attendent on the main floor which room they should go to to find "Selena Ouriana". He kindly helped them out and sent them on their way.

The entire complex was nicely decorated and furnished. Robin felt like she was walking through a 5 star hotel with walls painted a nice neutral beige and deep red carpeting that lined the hallways and staircases. Each door they passed, was a rich mahogany brown, a shining gold number on each door. They found the one they were looking for easily enough, 66. Amon knocked twice and they waited....and waited. "I don't think she's here." Robin said quietly, looking up and down the hallway.

Amon did the same and slowly tried the handle on the door. To his surprise it was open and he and Robin quickly exchanged glances and slipped inside. Naturally the room was dark, but when Amon found the lights, the whole empty room lit up. It appeared to have never been lived in. There was no evidence of anybody ever being in the room. No shoes by the door, no imprints of feet on the plush carpet, nothing. On a hunch, Amon pulled open the dresser, to find there had been nothing in it. Then he noticed a small card lying on the table next to the tv. He picked it up and flipped it over.

"Goddammit." He muttered, tossing the card at Robin, who caught it gently with one hand. She flipped it over and skimmed across the writting. It was a picture ID. The person in the picture was Maori of course, under the name "Selena". She couldn't see anything wrong with it.

"Whats wrong with it?" She asked, looking at him curiously.

"She was never here."

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Dun dun dun! :3 hate to end it there, but it had to be done. *cough*review*cough*


	4. An Unstable Alliance

Yikes. Its been a really long time since i've had a chance to work with this story more and i'm glad I finally have the time to do it.

Thanks for waiting guys, it means a lot.

Heres what you've been waiting for. n.n Remember to review.

Enjoy!

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They both stood in that room for what seemed like an eternity before Robin spoke up, "What do you mean? She had to have been here... This is her ID..." She said, trailing off. This confused her, there was no way she couldn't have been there, unless Amon meant something else.

He sighe and paused a moment, "Shes playing a game with us. I don't know where shes going with this but some how she knew we would be back to look for her. I don't think it has anything to do with the case, she was just prepared for this." He finished, sliding his hands into the pocket of his coat, staring at the floor in thought.

"What do we do now?" she asked timidly, reading the card over and over again, hoping it would give her a hint somehow. When she looked up again, Amon had his phone to his ear; evidently listening for someone to pick up on the other end.

"Yeah. No lead. She's never been here. The only thing in this room was an ID..." He said, pausing to let who Robin assumed was Michael, finish talking. "Thats what I thought, this is a game to her. We don't know what shes after or why she assumed we would look for her."

While he was talking, Robin got the incentive to at least look through the small kitchen and bathroom for anything that would help. She rather liked the apartment and the design of the kitchen, but she didn't think she could ever live there. The kitchen itself was absolutely spotless, the counter shiney with a very faint hint of pine, the nice black and white tiled floor pretty much reflected her appearence up to her. Robin then proceeded into the bathroom, the door seeming to be rather sticky as she opened it.

What she saw next deserved to be in a horror movie.

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Sakakki and Karasuma waited boredly in their patrol car outside the building, not yet hearing anything that told them they needed to go inside. As far as they knew, everything was going according to plan. "Do you think Robin's going to be ok?" Sakakki asked, staring intenty at the front doors of the apartment building.

"I don't see why she shouldn't be. She knows what Maori's voice does and I'm sure shes prepared for it." Karasuma answered, keeping an eye on the street for the time being, feeling rather bored herself. "I'm still worried about Dojima..." She said, furrowing her brow a little.

"She just over reacted to the hilt." Sakakki said, "She does that a lot. I think it has to do with being Ms. Drama Queen all the ti-wait..." He was cut off by the slow movement of someone walking down the sidewalk, away from the building. He didn't know whether she walked past it or came out of it, but he knew it was her.

thinking he got out of the car and raced down the sidewalk to her, Karasuma yelling for him to stop behind him. The most she could do was watch him run, knowing better than to follow him. "What is his problem..." She said to herself, picking up her phone and calling Dojima. For some reason she just got her voice mail. Now they had a problem.

Sakakki followed the woman closely, right down a side alley now, her appearing not to notice she was being followed. The alley was rather long and narrow, soon enough he had followed her far enough that the sounds from the street seemed to be far away. She stopped suddenly in the middle of the alley. "Why are you following me Sakakki?"

Now he realized what she had done. There was noone around and he had no back up. Sakakkit slowly pulled his gun out of its holster. "I should have done this 2 months ago Maori..." He said, pointing it right at her back.

She turned around slowly and tossed a small irrisistable grin at him. "That thing is useless to you, you know that. I can't die. What is it that your associates want with me now?" she asked out of the blue, crossing her arms over her chest, waiting for an answer. Sakakki couldn't tell if she was trying to get him to fall into her trap again or not.

"That might have saved you the first time, but its not going to now." He told her, reffering to how much influence she had over him at one point. Enough to convince him to save her from Amon's gun. Then it dawned on him. If their bullets could kill her then, why not now? _" Oh shit..."_

Maori locked her gaze on him and continued to smile. "Oh. Now we're getting it." She teased, nodding slowly, "You finally understand what happened. What a pity. I was having fun too..." she said, shifting her golden eyes to something behind him. He didn't trust her at all and took a split second glance behind himself. Nothing. He felt a cool breeze and looked where his gun was pointed again. She was gone.

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Robin had to take a few steps out of the room, the sight and the smell of blood was far too over powering. Amon got off the phone quickly and headed in Robins direction. She was very wide eyed and had covered her mouth and nose with her hand. He only had to take 2 steps to figure out why. He too covered his nose and mouth as he walked into the bathroom, holding his breath as he looked over the bloody mess in the bathtub. Surprisingly, there wasn't that much blood on or even around the disfigured body. It was the smell of decay that was over powering. Amon had to step out of the room, closing the door again immediatly after flipping on the bathroom fan. They didn't even know what to say to each other at that point. "I'll notify the police." Amon said, walking out of the apartment altogether, Robin following closely.

Just as they turned left to go down the hallway, Robin almost ran into someone; not even seeing them right there til it was too late. "Sorry." She mumbled and then did a double take, "Maori..,?" she asked, imediatly getting Amon's attention. Maori looked confused and glanced between the both of them.

"What brings you 2 here?" She asked, barely whispering enough for them to hear. It was the only way for her not to make Robin cringe with fear. She did look thoroughly shocked to see them there.

Amon stepped in front of Robin protectively almost, one hand drifting to his holster under his coat. "are you aware you have a dead body lying in your bathroom?" he asked her accusingly, studying her face closely. Shock seemed to register a little more now as she shook her head vigorously.

"I haven't been home for the last few days..." She said inncocently, taking a step back from him now, looking him right in the eye. Amon had no choice but to take her word for it, he couldn't have her arrested now that need her for the case. He then backed off and removed his hand from his holster.

"How did it get there?" He pressed, irritated that he even had to deal with her now, yet curious enough to find out if she was lying.

"I-i don't know...I think i've been set up..." she tried to tell him, finally looking away towards the floor, "I knew this would happen..." She whispered, biting down on her lip rather hard, a concerned expression appearing on her face. Amon still didn't trust her, something was weird with the situation. Robin felt it too, she didn't quite believe her. The body had been there longer than 2 days judging by the smell in the bathroom.

They were silent for a moment, Amon finally saying "you have to come with us. Its not about the fact you murdered somebody, we need your help with a case." He told her, really wishing he hadn't said anything. Maori's expression changed from shock to surprise.

"How do you think I can help?" She asked, glancing between him and Robin.

"You'll find out." he said coldly, turning around to head out of the building, Robin still following behind him and Maori following as well, somewhat hesitantly, but grinning the moment they looked away.

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:3 makes you want more doesn't it?


	5. The Truth?

YAY! Newest chapter is up. :3

Enjoy!

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Sakakki was bewildered at what just happened and turned a full 360, not so much freaked out as he was prepared for an attack. After a few seconds of hearing nothing but traffic from the street in the background, he put his gun back into its holster on his side and sighed; running a hand through his trousled brown hair.

It was already getting darker outside, the street lights reflecting off the small puddles in the alley from dripping pipes from above; Sakkaki took his time getting back to the car where he assumed Karasuma would still be waiting for him, although he doubted she'd still be there. He didn't even know how long he was gone for. "Maybe she was serious..." He mumbled, kicking a small rock in front of him as he watched the ground while walking. His gaze became unfocused after a few steps, thinking about what she had said to him those 2 months ago.

_"I'm not here to influence you with anything. I just want your help..." She told him, pausing a moment as if choosing her words carefully, "I'll tell you anything you want to know.." She bargained, fixing her golden gaze on him._

_Sakakki could never look her in the eye longer a few seconds at a time, the golden colour was so piercing he was sure she could see into his soul with them. "...Fine. I'll buy." he said, trying to at least not sound intimidated by her, "What exactly are you? Were we right?" _

_Maori nodded slowly, taking her eyes off him for a moment to glance at the floor, figuring now was better time than never. She owed them all an explanation. "Yes. I'm not a normal vampire. I am a hybrid of sorts..an expiramentation if you will."_

_He pretended to fiddle with something in his pocket, absorbing everything she was saying. "Expiramentation? Do tell."_

_She really did not want to answer him, it was just too painful to think about and remember. "I was a human at one point in time...I lived like everybody else, my family had a decent amount of land and we did the best we could with what we had. I barely remember those days up until I was murdered on July 2nd, 1819." Maori started explaining, not looking at him the rest of the conversation and idly draging her nail along the counter, making a small indent deeper quickly. _

_To Sakkaki it sounded like she was rambling, or avoiding the topic, but the year and date she died caught his attention. She barely looked a day over maybe 18, if that. He remained silent and nodded, letting her continue; hoping anything else she said answered a few of his unasked questions. _

_"I don't remember anything after dying. The only thing that sticks out in my mind is waking up on a surgery table, feeling more than alive than ever, even though I knew I was dead. Apparently they had just finished 'working on me', or thats what I thought I heard. Of course I had no idea what that meant until I tried to move or even make a sound. Nothing would work. It was as if I had a voice, but no ability to use it. They made the mistake of making me strong though. I couldn't be confined when I realized this. I did what wanted within the clan and not even their elder could stop me. I was a new vampire with gifts unlike any other. But how they brought me back I never did find out. I had seen them turn hundreds of others and they all remembered it when it was over and done. Even they themselves told me I had to have died...anyway at one point a few of the people on their research team came up with a 'cure' for me. It would take away every thing I had gained and either leave me a vampire or worse, dead for real. Noone can cheat death twice." Maori explained; having to cross her arms over her chest to keep from destroying anything she touched at that point. "Just after I was threatened with this 'cure', I found the true reason for my existance. I was to be a weapon against human hunters and other clans."  
_

_Now everything fell together. Sakakki understood why she did all of those things to them. If she were being tracked, they would have killed her instantly; should she do anything suspicious. He knew now that they had to come to her. He didn't know what to say. What could he say? There was nothing he could do that would be of any comfort unless he mentioned anything about helping her. But then there was this gut feeling he had that something wasn't right about this. He also knew his gut had been wrong on many occasions. "Well...I'm sorry to hear about that...But I still don't know if I can trust what you say..."_

_She winced at hearing this, appearing to be holding her tongue about something, but she said it anyway. "Do you know what its like not having to breathe until you have something to say? To have a touch like ice? To be watched constantly and have others plan to use you as a weapon?"_

_Sakakki finally mustered the courage to look her straight in the eye. "I might not know what thats like, but-" She stopped suddenly, seeing the intense look in her eyes and the pleading expression on her face. It was then that he understood they were actually talking, person to person. No influence. "...I do know what it feels like to be used" he finised quietly, finding his resolve. _

_"You're going to help me?" She asked, her tone almost unreadable; as if to be testing him to see whether he actually believed her or not, but she had no control over that, Maori was trying hard not to let any of her abilities or looks influence his decision. _

_"I'll help you."_

Sakakki made it back to the car where Karasuma stayed and waited, by Amon's orders. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" she drilled him the moment he closed the car door, remaning silent as his mind was almost separate from his body at that point, being on autopilot. "Sakakki?"

He snapped out of it, "what?" He asked rather bluntly, waiting to hear if she had anything more to say that he probably wouldn't care about at the moment.

She shook her head and started the car.

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Maori was silent, sitting in the back seat of Amon's car and watching out the window as he drove back to the STN. She had to keep her expression neutral, even though her mind was full of worry. _"Did he see him?" _she wondered, a flashback of what happened in the alley going through her mind, the shadow of another person was prepared to take care of Sakakki should she not handle the situation appropriately. The only thing she didn't count on was him following her gaze back.

Robin took the occasional glance in the rear view mirror, realizing she hadn't moved the entire ride back. She frowned slightly and focused her attention forward, looking out at the road instead and soon enough the underground parking lot of the STN. She found it odd how Amon hadn't said another word since they got in the car. Something told her he was fighting a battle in his mind.

Even as they waited awkwardly in elevator to get up to the right floor, everything seemed tense around Amon. "are we waiting here for the others?" she asked, hoping that would spark somewhat of a conversation among them.

"Yes." He simply said and walked into the office, letting Maori in first before either of them.

That answered her question, she had to admit and sighed softly when she walked in, sitting in her usual spot next to Michael, who seemed very surprised to see Maori. "I thought you couldn't find her?"

"She found us." Robin answered, when Amon stayed silent, heading straight into the briefing room. That room seemed to be his 'home away from home' now.

Michael nodded slowly, "Whats his deal?" he asked quietly, glancing between the other room and Robin.

"He doesn't want to have anything to do with me." Maori whispered, crossing her legs after she sat down across from the both of them. Robin mearly nodded in agreement, smoothing out her dress a little.

Michael was a little drawn in for a moment before blinking a few times, "Oh? I figured this was about this morning with Sakakki...guess not." he shrugged and put his head phones on, going back to what he was doing on his computer, quicking wanting to get away from her voice.

Maori looked away, slightly dejected by how she was being treated, "I'm sorry about all this." Robin said, "They don't mean to be so cold."

Maori nodded, "Its fine. I can see where they're coming from." She whispered, actually feeling somewhat ridiculous at that point.

The awkward silence continued until Karasuma and Sakakki came back, Sakakki finally fully snapped out of his thoughtfulness enough to be somewhat decent when he walked in, waving at Robin. However he almost turned and left the room when he saw Maori sitting there, her black hair shining in the fluorecent light. "...Great." He muttered under his breath, not surprised she'd be there in the least. He had a feeling something like that would happen.

"Stop being so rude." Karasuma said bluntly, tossing a glare at him. "you're attitude today just sucks. you're acting like a child. What ever your problem is, get over it while you're at work." She said, tired of him acting the way he was.

All eyes were on the two of them now, especially after that little outburst. When it appeared Sakakki was going to be more civil everybody almost sighed in relief. Although, something still seemed out of place. Then it dawned on her. "Karasuma, have you seen Dojima anywhere?"

"Not since we left this afternoon...I thought she followed you guys back when I got orders to stay. I couldn't get a hold of her either when he took off out of the car." She said, gesturing at Sakakki. Now she looked rather concerned. If Maori was here, where was Dojima?

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I like reviews. :3


	6. Progress, finally!

I'm so sorry its taken me a year to update this. Dx so much as been going on here that I just haven't had the time. V.v But! Heres the next chapter anyhow, as short as it may be. ^^ please review! Make sure to read my first WHR fic as well.

* * *

The room went dead silent. Nobody had heard from Dojima since they investigated earlier that day. Everybody in the room exchanged glances, Maori included; and then all eyes were on her, except for Amon. He was still muddling around in the briefing room. She would shift uncomfortably where she sat, her golden gaze fixed on the floor.

"Maori…do you know anything about her disappearance?" Robin asked her quietly, taking in Maori's body language. Robin could tell she was uncomfortable with the question, but it had to be asked. She would turn her head a little to glance at Sakkaki, who stood there on the opposite side of the room, arms folded tightly over his chest. She had the feeling he was anxious about something.

Maori shook her head, letting out a sigh. "No. I know nothing about this." She said quietly in her musical voice, lifting her head to look Robin straight in the eyes. In that moment, Robin felt the most despair she had ever felt. It was as if she was feeling what Maori was feeling. Or so she assumed. Robin herself had nothing to be anxious about.

"She disappeared after I had run into you." Sakkaki said coldly, trying to hide the sympathy in his voice, the discussion he had months back still replaying in his mind. He could not let go of the fact that she was being used and blackmailed into everything. Yet there was still something he couldn't put his finger on. He wasn't sure if it was fear or distrust. "I hardly call that a coincidence."

Karasuma sat quietly with Michael, trying to decipher what her next move would be in this. She had to sigh softly and stood up. "Okay. We need to stop acting like children. If Maori was going to kill us, do you think we'd be standing here right now?"

That seemed to have triggered something in Sakakki. He couldn't keep quiet about this anymore. "She needs help. Her own Coven wants complete control over her." What he said must have been serious, Amon appeared at the doorway to the briefing room.

"How would you know?" He questioned Sakakki coldly, eyeing Maori accusingly. Maori herself seemed to withdraw from what was happening. It was all unfolding in front of her and for some reason; even Robin felt impending doom. Robin's expression softened and she would get out of her seat and move towards Maori, patting her shoulder comfortingly.

Sakakki felt like biting his tongue for opening his mouth, but it needed to be done. "Look, shes not the one we need to worry about. In fact I'm sure she knows about Hiroshima and what happened in the aftermath in those pictures. That's why shes here." Amon did not like what Sakkaki was saying one bit. No matter what was said or proven, he refused to trust her very presence. "You are gullible." Amon retorted, his voice thick with anger. "If you believe anything a succubus says, you're no better."

"Excuse me. But Dojima is still missing and Maori is right here. If what Sakakki is saying is true, then Maori can help us act on this and find her. We're not dealing with Witches anymore remember? These are vampires. Nothing like what we're used to and we need to tread carefully here. She can help us." Michael jumped in, rather tired of petty arguments.

Robin continued to sit by Maori, mostly ignoring what everyone else was fighting about for the time being. "What do you remember about Hiroshima?" She would as quietly, fighting off the feelings she was getting from Maori indirectly. Robin knew Sakakki was telling the truth, Maori was different than normal vampires.

Maori did not look at Robin, nor did she answer her question right off the bat. "I was there for the slaughter. The dead ones in the picture are not human. They were vampires as well but of different clan. We're at war." She told Robin, bringing her gaze back up to hers. "Sakakki is aware of my position. He'll have to tell you more. However I can't be here too long. Whatever you people need me for, it has to be done soon."

Robin nodded, that same despair and anxiety sweeping over her from looking at Maori straight in the eye. In that moment, Robin had figured out part of Maori's ability. She could make a person feel whatever she was feeling. "I understand.." Robin mumbled, thinking for a moment.

Robin then stood up herself, getting everyones attention. "Maori might be helpful in locating Dojima." She announced and gestured at Maori who sighed softly.

"If they followed me here, they know I'm doing something among the STN and needed bait to see if they're assumptions are true." Maori explained the best she could, trying to keep her voice at a tone that wouldn't make everybody go loopy from listening to her.

Amon shook his head for a moment. "Who is 'they'?" he demanded, taking a hostile step towards Maori. She would bare her fangs at him threateningly and let out a warning hiss at him.

"Look, if you're going to take that tone with me, I'm not going to deal with you and they can have her. Got it?" Maori said, basically demanding respect from him. "You were the one who had to seek me out for this. You better damn well lose the attitude."

Never in all her years at the STN had Karasuma or Michael heard anybody stand up to Amon like Maori had. Amon had even backed off from her; his face as unreadable as a statue. "As I was saying. My clan has a specialized team to take on covert activities such as kidnap. I suspect they have her as leverage to see if I'm feeding information to you. Originally I was sent here to wipe you people out because your focus shifted from witches to Vampires. Our existence was meant to be secret and unknown to anyone."

When she was done, Karasuma felt like collapsing, as did Robin. Her voice was just intolerable when she was threatened. "So…what do we do from here?" Michael asked, helping Karasuma sit back into the chair next to him, covering her ears protectively. "We don't know exactly how to fight these things."

"About the only thing you can do now is let me handle it." Maori said, "I'll have to teach you what kills them and how to do it." Robin had noticed by looking at her at few minute intervals that her skin was changing colour. It was getting paler. All of a sudden she didn't feel safe sitting next to Maori and shifted to move away from her. Maori's voice began to get quiet again, but something seemed tobe happening to her.

Amon recognized what it was. "You need to feed, don't you?" He asked, as if he already knew the answer. Her gaze fixed on him now. He barely flinched from it, simply staring at her intently.

Maori would stand up once again, wandering towards him slowly, step by step; getting quieter by the second. Sakkaki's hand drifted down to his gun, not liking the direction this was going in. "Maori…stop…" he said firmly, reaching one hand out to stop her by her shoulder.

That seemed to be a mistake. She instantly bared her fangs again and lunged at him. That same instant Robin let out a scream and 2 gunshots rang out and echoed in the room. Maori stopped just short of tearing into his flesh not only with her fangs, but claws as well. Sakakki was in pure shock. He fell backwards onto the floor and scooted back as far as he could from Maori.

Maori seemed to be frozen where she stood, 2 gunshot wounds to her torso. At first they seemed to have no effect on her, her still coming at Sakakki, only much slower; her eyes completely obsessed with coming towards him; and then she stopped, gasping for breath and sinking to the floor, the bullet wounds 'smoking' a little before she collapsed on the floor completely.

Robin could not believe what she was seeing. She glanced up at Amon who made the shots; his gun still pointing at Maori's still body. "Shes not dead." He would say, finally holstering his gun again. "Michael, get her restrained and pull out the bullets."

It took a full moment before he moved, eventually working up the courage to move Maori's body out of the room to a more secure area. "Sakakki, go with him." Amon ordered, gesturing for him to move it. Sakakki himself was still trying to catch his breath and reluctantly stood up.

"Theres no way I'm going near her." He told Amon, shakily putting away his gun that had fallen out of his holster when he fell backwards to the floor. It had all happened so suddenly. She seemed so civil, so human like that he forgot what she really was. A ruthless killer.

"Go." Amon simply said, his voice getting more frustrated by the second. Sakakki couldn't argue with him anymore and exited the room, his foot steps sounding rather angry as he made the attempt to keep up with Michael. Amon's attention moved to Karasuma and Robin. "We don't have time to waste. Dojima is in danger."

"Amon…" Robin trailed off, too late in catching his attention for the time being, forced to get up and follow him. Karasuma hadn't said a single word since he pulled out his gun and shot Maori. She refrained from violence as much as she possibly could.

Robin could tell how tense everything was now. This became very serious. "Amon how do you know where to go?" She asked, keeping stride with him down to the underground parking lot. He didn't respond to her. Robin stole a glance at Karasuma, who appeared to be rather disturbed by everything that had happened that day. Nobody seemed to be working like a team anymore.

He wordlessly got into his car, Robin automatically getting into the front seat next to Amon; just barely getting the door closed as he pulled out. Karasuma right behind them in her own car. "How do you know where to go?" She asked him again, assuming he'd be more likely to answer her when they were alone.

"There is a warehouse that's apparently being used as a tire bay not too far from here. I did the research while the rest of you were talking to Maori. If what shes saying is true and Dojima is leverage for them to keep tabs on Maori, if she had come with us or gone alone, that would have been the determining factor of whether Dojima lives or dies." He explained as thoroughly as he could, watching the road in the dark, driving the best he could at the right speed. Robin finally understood. Amon was waiting for Maori to do that so she would be put out of commission so they could rescue Dojima. If Maori had come with them or gone alone, all she had to do is say that Dojima was nothing to her and that would be it…they would kill Dojima.

Then Robin had a sudden realization. Amon wasn't using his gun. He had a different barrelled gun that he used to shoot Maori with. "Amon… Where did you get that gun from?" She asked, shock finally wearing off enough for her to think about it more clearly.

"Vampires can't handle silver or holy water. Bullets are made out of 100% silver alloy and cooled with holy water. They might not kill her, but they will slow her down for a while." He told her, almost casually at that. As if he'd known that the whole time and just didn't mention it to anybody. For a split second, Robin felt like they had a fighting chance against them.

However, either way she looked at it, Dojima was in danger. She could even be dead now as they drove there. Robin now felt genuine anxiety. Had they waited too long?


End file.
